We’re a bunch of animal-rescuing pet lovers over here at YellowDog. Despite our canine-leaning name, our team is actually a mix of both dog people and cat people. (In fact, Team Cat may even be winning these days!)
Being a pet-branded business comes with certain responsibilities. We have to keep at least a dog or two around the studio at any given time, we have to scratch them often, we have to give them treats, and we have to support our favorite local animal rescue nonprofit – The Denver Dumb Friends League. This year, we’re supporting DDFL by entering our three office-going dogs in their annual Calendar Photo Contest.
Here’s a big dose of YellowDog pet cuteness and rescue stories, plus the chance to VOTE for your favorite YellowDog mascot.
Lucy
When our first yellow labrador, Maggie, passed away in the summer of 2014 at the age of 14, we didn’t think we could ever replace her. We had raised her alongside our two daughters and even named our business, YellowDog, after her.
Then, that Halloween, our niece came over with an adult chocolate labrador, Duke, who she had rescued and was looking to rehome. We fell in love with Duke and took him in, but there was one problem. He wasn’t yellow. Not wanting to rebrand our business as BrownDog just to match him, we opted for a little companion for him instead. We found him Lucy, a yellow lab puppy. When they met for the first time, Duke bowed down and granted Lucy alpha status right away. Somehow he knew she was the new official YellowDog mascot, destined to be the boss dog at the office.
~ Jenny and Dan Mulligan, founders and owners of YellowDog
Baloo
Baloo came from a rescue that transports dogs out of San Antonio TX. They have a lot of strays down there and most of the shelters have high kill rates so this rescue program would take as many dogs out of state as possible. He was about two years old when I got him and I have had him for eight years now. I do not have a yard for him, so I made sure I could bring him to work at YellowDog with me before I got him. Now he’s a fixture at the YellowDog studio and there’s even a portrait of him on the company wall mural!
~ Garner Eckerson, Production Manager
Frida Kahlo
Frida wasn’t listed for adoption until she was about five months old as she had parvo and they weren’t sure she was going to make it. When Frida recovered, my coworker, who was friends with Frida’s foster mom, showed me her profile and I instantly fell in love with this big-eared beauty. I drove a little outside of Pueblo to meet her the first time and she crawled in my lap and the rest is history. She is the best co-pilot and hiking buddy and goes everywhere with me, including the YellowDog office. She is the sweetest and fastest pup there ever was.
~ Meredith Milburn, Human Resources Manager
Sandy
~ Lauren Beecher, Web Developer
Luna
My boyfriend said he was “just looking” when he went to a Denver Puppy Rescue event six years ago, but after a little heeler mix puppy crawled into his lap, all bets were off. Her litter had been rescued off the streets of Las Lunas, NM, so he decided to name her Luna (not realizing at the time that approximately 35% of dogs are named Luna).
She’s a social little girl who will listen intently to whatever you have to say, and she’s so devoted to her people she won’t touch her food until everyone else has started eating their respective meals.
~ Morgan Heslin, Graphic Designer
Vlad
Vlad, the Russian Blue, has been with us for eight years now. We adopted him from an animal shelter in New Jersey when he was just a little baby kitten. Now he runs our household and often thinks he has a professional modeling career.
~ Lauren Pinto, Graphic Designer
Niko
Niko the street cat was rescued six years ago as a kitten from the mean streets of Newark, New Jersey by a small local shelter. All of his siblings got adopted right away, but he kept getting passed over because of how incredibly timid he was.
We made an instant connection as he curled up in my lap, burying his face in my hands, and went to sleep. He’s been with us ever since, and requires very special care and attention for his extreme anxiety disorder, but is the absolute sweetest.
~ Lauren Pinto, Graphic Designer
Onyx
My boyfriend (now husband) and I lived in Minneapolis and I had always wanted a black cat as my favorite pet growing up was an all-black short hair. I also knew they were the least likely to be adopted. When we got to the Animal Humane Society of MN she was what they called a “staff only”, meaning she had her own crate, could only be held with rubber gloves, and was on the verge of being taken off the adoption floor. It was clear she had a rough life and we were determined to give her the life we knew she deserved.
We brought her home the same day and named her Onyx. She has since come completely out of her shell and now enjoys scratches, sticking her head and paws under the faucet, chirping at the birds on the patio, and trying to trip her dad every chance she gets.
~ Laura Anderson, Account Manager
Torrey
When my husband and I both got full-time jobs after moving to Colorado we thought that our firstborn, Onyx, would like a friend to keep her company while we were gone. My husband, Blake, always wanted a tortoiseshell and we fell head over heels for her little split face the second we saw her on the Denver Dumb Friends website.
The second we met her she melted into Blake’s arms and fell asleep almost instantly, purring away. We knew she would be the perfect companion for Onyx, she was her complete opposite. Torrey, named after Torreys Peak, is literally the cuddliest cat you will ever meet and will always prefer a lap over a bed/couch every single day. She is also a great little heat nugget and is the best on a cold winter day!
~ Laura Anderson, Account Manager
Tumbles
14 years ago Tumbles came into my life! My boyfriend at the time really wanted a cat so we went to the animal shelter to pick out a kitten. He wanted the rowdiest and most rambunctious cat they had, and Tumbles was just in her little cage playing with her tail so we decided that she was the one.
A few weeks later, due to some mental health issues, he decided that he could not have a cat anymore and told me that if I “didn’t come get this cat that he would put her out on the street!” So I picked her up and took her home and we haven’t looked back since!
So that is how I came into possession of Tumbles…well maybe she became in possession of me! I decided to keep her name from the shelter because it really just suited her. She gets the zoomies even at her ripe old age as well as playing with tinfoil balls and licking receipt paper! (she’s strange to say the least!)
~ Sarah McCann, Small Format Production Manager
Loki
Curious, Fast, Eater of Anything. Kale? She’ll eat it. Cereal? Of course! Moths? Fun to catch AND eat! This little girl was adopted from Animal Rescue of the Rockies in Dec. 2020. She’s brought a lot of happiness to our family, and gives our older cat Yoshi someone to take care of.
~ Jen Gauerke, Creative Director
Yoshi
“He’s soooo chubby!” is what most people say when they first meet this big chonk. Can be found sleeping in a puddle of sunlight or, if he has the energy, giving his little sister Loki a bath. Yoshi was adopted from Denver Dumb Friends League in 2014. He’s the calm gentle giant of the family.
~ Jen Gauerke, Creative Director
Maybe
When I met this three-year-old cat at the Denver Dumb Friends League in 2019, she had been returned to the shelter twice already. Her record said she was feisty, standoffish, and “would never be a lap cat.” I was hopeful, though, that maybe she would become more sociable. I (re)named her Maybe.
Now, two years later, Maybe sleeps next to me every night and can’t get enough lap cuddles. Turns out, all she needed was frequent chin scratches, plain yogurt as a treat, and a little hope.
~ Cynthia Ord, Marketing Manager
by YellowDog.